As of January 17, 2026
In the time since my last update I have been juggling. If you know me, you know two things. First, I cannot juggle balls, oranges or scarves (like the how to book said). Second, I happen to be the queen at juggling tasks. My ability to compartmentalize, shifting full focus to what I need to at the moment, has served me well in my writing.
When I stepped away from the women’s fiction manuscript in August, it allowed space for me to dedicate my energy as a student in a Notes to Novel course. I drafted a new novel in an adjacent genre: psychological thriller. I’m drawn to human behavior and the problematic situations that arise.
After getting distance from the manuscript I worked on for several years, I returned to it in the last month. I love the story. I made editorial revisions, reshuffled or removed entire scenes, and polished the prose at a line level. I have begun the process of querying agents. I will update this website on any news about pages requested, rejections or offers of representation.
As the juggler, I am able to keep the querying ball in air, while I focus on my psychological thriller. I’m using my forty scene outline to write the first draft. The complex characters are such fun to write. The winter season is perfect for writing in this genre. I will share more on that in time. The third ball I am juggling is the social media presence. Besides this author website (grizzlybearma blog with a new look), I have a new author instagram I will link to. The farm TikToks will continue, and might even have some book reviews snuck in between the goats dancing.
Thanks for following along. I’ll keep you posted.
As of November 12, 2025
In May of this year, I “finished” revising the manuscript for my debut novel. It had been roughly two years from the time my story idea was born. I will always remember that journey, much like parenting our first child, I learned “on the job” lesson after lesson. Trial by fire. I changed POVs, verb tense, and timeline structure again and again. When my husband heard me musing about going back through another big change, he questioned my sanity. I told him it was like moving furniture around in a room. I am just not sure it’s right quite yet.
I wish I could tell you that the job is complete. Done. Finito. But the truth is that it might have served a different purpose. It’s shelved for now. I have ideas of revising it. But after so much tweaking and readjusting it just felt like the right time to set it aside.
For the last eleven weeks I have been in the throes of writing my next book. It is a domestic suspense thriller. Think of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None closed mystery with characters like the Real Housewives on Bravo. Messy characters, drama, a murder, and multiple people with motives. It was the genre that called to me when I signed up for an 8 week course called Notes to Novel.
I realized that I needed to go through the whole novel writing process from start to finish with instruction and coaching. It was exactly what I needed at the right time. I have a theme, character arcs, and forty scenes mapped out in colored index cards on the wall in my writing room. I was more of a pantser than a plotter before taking this class.
That is my update for now. I’ll be writing my rough draft using the notes on those index cards. I am nowhere near the finish line, but I’m off to a great start. I will keep you posted.
As of March 31, 2024
I am approaching the final stage of writing the first draft of my novel. That means I am deep into my Google Docs moving around scenes and working on the pacing. It has been an exciting time creatively. The next step will be editing and revising. I must admit it that it feels pretty great to tally up my word count and realize I am not just spinning my wheels. It is adding up to something! I look forward to sharing my progress with you in the near future. The genre I am writing in is one of my favorites to read: Contemporary fiction that deals with relationships of family, friends and a little romance. Anyone who knows me also knows that I like to look at the humor in situations, so my novel features relatable characters who are dealing with challenges that touch the heart and the funny bone. I am learning it is not a sprint, but I am in this for the distance. My next update may include an excerpt. Stay tuned.
